Archimede Solar Energy (ASE), Massa Martana (Perugia), an italian company
of Angelantoni Group, signed a contract in China for the supply of solar receiver tubes for the first plant in the world producing
electric energy with the solar thermodynamic technology , or Concentrated Solar
Power (CSP) with molten salts and parabolic troughs.
The project
started on 2013 and now is finally in its executive phase.
The first
15.000 tubes of the total 32.000 will be delivered within the end of 2015.
AKESAI SOLAR
THERMAL POWER PLANT (ASTPP) plant will have 55 MWe power and it will be
equipped with 15 hours thermal storage to produce electricity also whenever the
sun is absent ensuring the dispaciability.
The plant is
located in QINGHAI TIBET PLATEU, AKESAI COUNTY, GANSU PROVINCE.
A thermodynamic
solar plant is actually a thermoelectric plant where the thermal energy
necessary to operate the steam turbine, and therefore to produce electric
energy, is generated catching the solar rays through a system of reflecting solar collectors or
parabolic troughs.
The parabolic
troughs, following the sun, collect and concentrate continuously the sun
radiation on a receiver tube located in their focus.
Inside the
receiver tubes there is a fluid that is heated by the solar rays from 290°C to
550°C: this value obtained using a molten salts binary mixture (40% KNO3, 60% NaNO3).
The Molten Salts technology was developed by ENEA in cooperation with
the Italian industry since beginning of year 2000, inside the Archimede Solar
Thermodynamic project, at that time managed by the Nobel Prize Carlo Rubbia.
The use of the
molten salts, instead of the diathermic oil (presently used in this kind of
plants), gives various advantages such as:
Temperature Increase at the solar field exit up to 550°C against the 400°C obtained with the diathermic oils, with significant increase of the thermodynamic cycle performance of the electric production (approx.. 4 - 5% more);
The molten salts do not present any danger in case of accidental leakage from the plant circuits because they are not inflammable, non-toxic and they become solid rapidly if in contact with the ground with the possibility to collect them with mechanical tools, without any kind of pollution. Furthermore as they are commonly used in agriculture as fertilizers, they are not dangerous to the environment.
Dispaciability thanks to the high temperature thermal storage producing “Energy on Demand”.
ASE
industrialized ENEA research and built a production facility at Massa Martana (Perugia) with 70 bilion Euro
invested, including a complete Demo Plant of 600 m. loop.
ASE is the sole
company in the world able to produce Molten Salts Solar Receiver Tubes but can
also offer receiver tubes for different technologies available on the CSP, such
as Oil and DSG (Direct Steam Generation) market.
ASE tubes production
capacity per year is approx. 100 MWe equivalent
but we planned an increase up to 200 MWe.
Up today the
technology of the linear Parabolic troughs is the most diffused in the CSP (or
STE) panorama. The CSP
installed and operative power in the world is almost 4.1 GWe; the figure
relative to the Linear Parabolic troughs is approx. 3.5 GWe (source: CSP
Today), presently all with oil technology.
The development
of the Italian Molten Salts technology however can allow to the national
industries to cover in the future a good portion of this market.
The
International Energy Agency (IEA) foresees that the contribution of the
electric energy produced by CSP systems represents the 28% of the electricity
production by renewable sources within 2060. Today the most
interesting market for CSP is the “Sun Belt” area, particularly South Africa, Morocco, China, United States, Chile,
Saudi Arabia and India.
For the
realization of this first important
order, from Monday 13th July more that 40 new employees will join ASE (and
another 20 will enter the company with the end of this year) in addition to
almost 15 people employed at other companies working in outsourcing.
The new
employees are generally young people of this region just licensed in the high
schools and living mostly in the small districts around the Company and they
will be trained on the job. The production
startup is planned by the 3rd of August.
Considering the
new employees, Archimede Solar Energy confirms to be a company among the
youngest in Italy as the workers average age is below 27 years.
The whole
national industry of the
thermodynamic solar sector (22 companies belonging to ANEST, the National
Association of the Thermodynamic Solar Energy) will start to operate, waiting
for the the authorizations of the first national plants, necessary to prove and
guarantee this Italian technologic excellence on the international markets and
tenders.
ENEA, involved in AKESAI project
since June 2013, received the order to elaborate the project “ Feasibility
Study” and the “Basic Design” :
For the
construction of the solar field,
other companies belonging to the Italian
CSP network will be involved in the supply : REFLEX SOLAR for the mirrors,
BFR MECCANICA/ RDM for the collector
and the tracker and MECCANOTECNICA UMBRA
for the Rotating Joints.
Archimede Solar
Energy (“ASE”), a subsidiary of Angelantoni Group, is the most experienced
manufacturer of receiver tubes for solar thermodynamic plants with parabolic
trough technology, which use sodium and potassium nitrates (Molten Salts or
“MS”) as their heat transfer fluid. ASE also produces receiver tubes for Oil
and DSG.
www.archimedesolarenergy.it
Angelantoni
Group, established on 1932, consists of 6 production facilities located in
Italy (3 plants), Germany, India, and China. Started its activity in the
refrigeration sector, and over the years, became renowned in three main
industrial fields: Testing Equipment and Environmental Test chambers for
Automotive, Electronics and Aerospace; Life Science and Laboratory equipment
for Hospitals and Pharma, Renewable Energy (solar and biomass/biogas).
www.angelantoni.it
